This invention relates generally to systems for the passive restraint of motor vehicle occupants and, more particularly, to module housings and assemblies used therein.
Safety restraint systems which self-actuate from an undeployed to a deployed state without the need for intervention by the operator, i.e., "passive restraint systems", and particularly those restraint systems incorporating inflatable bags or cushions, as well as the use of such systems in motor vehicles have gained general appreciation.
It is well known to protect a vehicle occupant using a cushion or bag that is inflated with gas, e.g., an "air bag", when the vehicle encounters sudden deceleration, such as in a collision. During deployment, the rapidly evolving gas with which the bag is typically filled is an inert gas, e.g., nitrogen. In such systems, the air bag is normally housed in an uninflated and folded condition to minimize space requirements. In an emergency, gas is discharged from an inflator to rapidly inflate the air bag. The air bag, upon inflation, serves to restrain the movement of the vehicle occupant as the collision proceeds. In general, such air bags are commonly designed to be inflated in no more than a few milliseconds.
Vehicular inflatable restraint systems generally include multiple crash sensors generally positioned about or mounted to the frame and/or body of the subject vehicle and serve to sense sudden decelerations by the vehicle. In turn, the sensor sends a signal to an air bag module or assembly strategically positioned within the riding compartment of the vehicle to actuate deployment of the air bag.
In general, an air bag provided for the protection of a vehicle driver, i.e., a driver side air bag, is mounted in a storage compartment located along the steering column of the vehicle. In driver side air bag installations, it is common that the air bag is housed outside the plane of the steering wheel, resulting in the hub of the steering wheel assembly being larger than otherwise needed as well as in the displacement of items such as horn switches and cruise controls that otherwise may have more easily and/or desirably been centrally located at the steering wheel hub. Further, though driver side air bags are generally circular, oval or elliptical in shape, largely as a result of the practical limitations in the folding of air bags, such driver side air bag installations are commonly covered with a rectangularly shaped cover. Thus, rather exact and complex folding of the air bag is generally required to better ensure proper deployment of the air bag from such an assembly.
While the inclusion of air bag module assemblies in motor vehicles has become relatively common, there is an ongoing desire to improve the functioning of such assemblies, a desire for the provision of arrangements which result in greater design flexibility not only for the assembly but also for placement and location of items such as horn switches and cruise controls in the surrounding vehicle interior, as well as a need to reduce the manufacture and/or material costs associated with such arrangements.
Also, as weight minimization is an especially important concern in modern vehicle design as a result of the impact the weight on vehicular fuel mileage, air bag module assemblies which facilitate incorporation within a vehicle without significantly impacting the weight and mileage capability of the resulting vehicle are desired.